Daken
History Origins Daken was the son of Wolverine and his Japanese wife, Itsu. In 1946, Itsu, while in the last stages of her pregnancy, was murdered by the Winter Soldier in an attempt to draw Wolverine out and return him to the custody of Madripoor. After Itsu's death, Romulus (wearing a trench coat in order to conceal his identity) took the baby, cutting him from his mother's womb and leaving her body behind. The baby survived the horrible incident due to his mutant healing factor inherited from his father. Romulus left the baby on the doorstep of Akihira and Natsumi, a wealthy, young and traditional Japanese couple. They took the child's arrival as an answer to their prayers and raised him as their own. Though he was named Akihiro by his step-father, the servants and other families of the province secretly referred to the boy as Daken (meaning "bastard dog"), a slur on his obvious mixed heritage. As Akihiro grew up, he was often teased by the other boys of the village. His harsh treatment over the years caused Akihiro to develop a very cold persona to all except his step-father. One night, Natsumi confessed to Akihira that she didn't love their adopted son and that, after long years of trying, she was pregnant. Akihiro overheard this and began plotting. Within a year, sometime in 1957 after the birth of the baby, Akihiro confronted his mother, telling her that she had killed her son. Akihira was furious and disowned Akihiro, who furiously responded that "Akihiro" was not his true name. Natsumi suddenly appeared, trying to run Daken through with a sword, triggering the onset of Daken's mutant powers. With a wave of his arm, he accidentally slashed Natsumi with the bone claws that had sprung from his hands. Unable to force himself to harm his son, Akihara instead committed suicide. Romulus then appeared to the boy for the first time, telling Daken that he was what the boy would someday become. Romulus sent Daken to a training camp in Canada, the same camp where Wolverine had first trained more than forty years earlier. Daken was also trained by the same man as his father - Silas Burr - who would later become the mercenary known as Cyber. Burr trained Daken for more than two years before Daken went missing one day. While two search parties were sent out, Daken, at the behest of Romulus, reappeared in camp and killed every man before confronting Burr. During their fight, Daken displayed what Romulus described as an ability to alter a person's emotional state. Daken used this ability to put Burr in a very good mood, confusing him and allowing Daken to draw first blood with his claws. Burr, however, quickly recovered and Daken soon found himself on the ground. With his revolver aimed at the prone Daken, Burr prepared to kill his student. Daken, however, suddenly appeared behind Burr with the revolver and emptied it into Burr. As Daken then prepared to kill his trainer, Romulus appeared and stopped him, telling Daken that he had plans for Burr, before asking Burr if he had ever heard of Adamantium. Years later, Romulus revealed to Daken that his father was still alive, but lied at the same time, telling Daken that it was Wolverine who had killed Itsu with Daken still inside her. Romulus told Daken that Wolverine feared what Daken would become. This lie sewed a seed of vengeance in Daken that Romulus continued to feed in the following decades. In recent times, Daken and Wolverine met for the first time. Disguised as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Daken brutally stabbed Dum Dum Dugan before confronting his incarcerated father, slashing him across the stomach and leaving him bleeding on the floor, as his mother had been left, many years before. Daken also "aided" his father in escaping from S.H.I.E.L.D., though not for benevolent reasons. Daken next arrived in Berlin at the home of a woman he had been cruelly toying with. He led her to believe that he had been cheating on her with a man that he was actually just planning to kill for a passport. There had been no affair. Knowing that she would drink an entire bottle of burgundy, Daken secretly poisoned it, killing her. While he simply wanted to tie up any loose ends that could point others to his crimes, Daken also made a deliberate choice to kill the woman in an unusually sadistic manner. While walking through the streets of Potsdam, Germany, Daken was contacted by an anonymous messenger who reminded him of his displeased master's "ultimate goal". Daken dispatched the messenger to yet again cover up any traces of his presence. Later he was on a train to Brussels, watching his father in a nearby stolen car. He then received a phone call from an unknown "friend" (who was actually the recently resurrected Cyber), who confirmed his father's destination. After shadowing his father into a bank vault in Brussels that contained a carbonadium synthesizer, Daken engaged Wolverine in a bloody battle, with Daken demonstrating great fighting prowess, speed and agility similar to his father. The fight was interrupted however, by Cyber (Silas Burr), Daken's former combat instructor. Cyber challenged Daken, his finest student to combat in hopes Daken would take him to his supposed "master". Losing the fight due to his former teacher's superior strength and imperviousness to harm, Daken refused and fled the fight leaving his father and his mentor to deal with each other. He later returned to his master. Wild Child and was tortured by a scarred, expressionless man through continuous whipping with a gasoline soaked rope. He was warned to avoid future confrontations with his father. Daken eventually reappeared, interrupting a situation between Deadpool and Wolverine, who was dangling above a pool of water by ropes and chains. Daken sliced off Deadpool's left hand before Deadpool could pull a lever which would drop Wolverine into the pool. Daken immediately pulled the lever himself before reengaging Deadpool. During this fight, Daken kicked two grenades into the pool, and the resulting explosion tossed Wolverine out of the pool. Deadpool's other hand was also sliced off by Daken, and he was also left with deep slashes across his abdomen. Daken was then confronted by his father, only to be shot in the back of the head with a carbonadium bullet by the Winter Soldier. He was unaware Wolverine had the criminal Tinkerer construct three bullets out of Carbonadium for him with the Carbonadium Synthesizer used to construct a pacemaker for Cyber. Wolverine gave the bullets to the Winter Soldier with the intention of them being used to incapacitate Daken, since Carbonadium dramatically decreased the speed of an accelerated healing factor. Wolverine revealed to Daken that he allowed Deadpool to capture him in the hopes of drawing him out. He then gently cradled Daken in his arms and carried him out of the warehouse, but not before speaking to Deadpool, who was conscious but unable to move due to the beating Daken had given him. Wolverine told Deadpool not to take it personally, though he warned him not to try to come after him again because he would kill him if he did. Daken regained consciousness after being brought to a cave somewhere in Japan that was filled with the disfigured remnants of men used in various Weapon X experiments. It turned out that Wolverine guarded these subjects decades earlier and destroyed the cave using explosives. All the Weapon X test subjects were believed to have been killed, but that had not been the case. Daken awoke and panicked. Daken killed most of the men before asking Wolverine who he was and what had happened, revealing that he seemed to have lost much of his memories, much like his father had in the past. He was however, tracked by Sebastian Shaw and Miss Sinister who helped him regain his memories. He learned the truth behind Itsu's death. In a plan to get to Cyber's secrets Daken joined his father in seeking revenge against Romulus. However, Daken seemingly betrayed Wolverine to Cyber. After learning Cyber's secrets, Daken apparently killed Cyber, leaving his body to Wolverine. Daken managed to get a piece of his father's Muramasa Blade and asked the Tinkerer to fuse the metal with his claws. Dark Reign In the Dark Reign storyline, Norman Osborn puts together a new group of Avengers (Dark Avengers) of which Daken is a member, wears a version of his father's brown and tan Wolverine costume, and takes the Wolverine name for himself. Cyclops then sees him as a liability and plans to kill him with the Muramasa blade to protect the image of the X-Men. It is revealed, however, that he agreed to join the Dark Avengers as a way to draw out Cyclops to take the Muramasa blade from his possession. He eventually attracts the X-men and Wolverine who are holding the blade. After a brief battle, he takes a piece of the blade and brings it to the Tinkerer, who then bonds the "metal" to the claws on his wrists. Daken is seen alongside the other Dark Avengers fighting Morganna le Fay's demons. When Spider-Man entered the Avenger Tower, pretending to be Mac Gargan, he is first ambushed by Daken who knew he was not Mac via scent. However, he is eventually incapacitated by Spider-Man after he pummeled him and threw him into an electric generator. In Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-man, Daken and Bullseye are sent by Norman Osborn to kill Mac Gargan. However, they are both beaten badly by Mac. In Dark Reign: The List - Punisher, after repeated failed attempts to kill Frank Castle, Norman Osborn sends Daken and a platoon of H.A.M.M.E.R troops to complete this mission. After a bloody round of hand-to-hand combat, Daken dismembers and decapitates Castle, before kicking his remains from a rooftop. Castle's body parts are collected and spirited away by Moloids, seemingly operating under the protection of Man-Thing. In Incredible Hulk #603, Bruce Banner lures his son Skaar into a fight between him and Daken. Daken and Skaar battle it out and Daken nearly defeats Skaar, but Wolverine and Banner intervene. The two father-son teams battle, but the fight is stopped when Banner says that Skaar has learned his lesson and Daken abruptly leaves Wolverine behind. Dark X-Men Daken (in his Dark Wolverine persona) is a member of Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men. He will also remain on the Dark Avengers team, though he takes the Dark X-Men's side in their quarrel with the Dark Avengers when Bullseye asks him which side he's on. in which he replies that he "always did like playing for both teams". Loyalty However, Daken's loyalty to Osborn and true motives for joining Osborn were always questionable, as Daken constantly mentions in his monologues as well as to others "Osborn thinks I'm working for him". This questionable loyalty put him at odds with Bullseye, and Ares. In Wolverine #75-77, he secretly assists the Fantastic Four in helping them break into Avengers Tower to steal incriminating evidence against Osborn while trying to clear their name against Osborn, but was foiled by Bullseye. Moonstone tried to psychoanalyze him in an attempt to know him and assuage her feelings for him, but Daken rebuked her and Osborn. During Osborn's Siege of Asgard, Daken had visions of killing Osborn forced upon him by Nordic spirits who wished to bring about Ragnarok with Daken as the vessel.Destruction is all around as Daken and Bullseye lead platoons of H.A.M.M.E.R agents against the forces of Asgard. They are overwhelmed in numbers, Bullseye remarking that they need to retreat. Daken is against it and kisses him to keep him quiet, as well as to ensure that he has someone by his side to make the fight easier for him. He considered slipping away by himself, but decides against it. He couldn't take being called a coward, he decides to try being a hero by continuing the fight and leading the men to safety. He muses how he is the only "God" that people will look to and how he has become a "Godslayer". Bullseye continues to rebuff his claims that they keep fighting, causing Daken to snap and attack the wounded agents. After Osborn arrives and tells his troops to keep fighting, they leave. Bullseye tells Daken he is a joke and no one respects him or will ever follow him. The Fates appear once more, with him telling them that he saved the troops, like a hero. The Fates respond by claiming that being a hero was never in his nature and that is the reason no one will follow him. Daken asks them to tell him what to do, to let them burn and die. The Fates tell him that he already knows the answer and has chosen his own fate. The scene shifts to Daken and Bullseye being in the thick of battle, the former with a confident grin on his face. He knows what is going to happen. He knows he will survive and changes his decision to let everyone else around him burn, rather than to save them. As the Dark Avengers were being arrested, Daken was the only one who managed to escape by killing and replacing a guard. Later on, Daken is seen by his father's side, saying that his "schedule just opened up." Hinting that Daken no longer holds any allegience to Norman Osborn, and that he and Logan are going to take down Romulus together. Logan outlines his plan to his son, who believes that his plan will be quite effective, even if he doesn't admit it. Daken makes it clear to his father that they have a common goal and nothing more. Once Romulus is out of the way, they will finish what they started. Daken nexts appears in Ankara, sipping coffee as Logan catchs up to him to ask why he's there when he shouldn't be yet. Daken admits that Romulus knows Logan is here because he told him. The scene shifts to a week ago in Paris, with Romulus paying the noticeably shaken Daken a visit. He tells Wolverine that he told Romulus that he told him everything because he hated him, Logan responding that he didn't hate his father, it was because he loved Romulus. Before Daken can respond, Logan cuts him off and tells him he knew all along that his son would betray him and was counting on it. Daken simmers, irritated that he had been taken advantage of and is then abruptly stabbed through the chest with what appears to be the Muramasa blade by his own father. As Daken's body is being loaded up into an ambulance, Romulus comes out into the open, eager to see the damage that has been done. As he looks into the ambulance, Skaar bursts out ready to fight him. Wolverine watches from above. Later on, Daken appears behind Romulus, fully recovered. He tells his former mentor that the sword Wolverine stabbed him with was a fake in order to draw Romulus out so his empire can be exposed. Daken can't have that and agrees to help him just as Wolverine and Skaar show up to battle. Daken tries to kill Romulus but before he can Romulus is trapped in the Darkforce Dimension by Wolverine. Later Daken and Wolverine fight and he is bested by Wolverine. When he wakes up his Muramasa claws have been remove and buried with the Muramasa Blade in an unknown location. Powers and Abilities Powers Daken is a second generation mutant and possesses powers similar to those of his father. Mutant Physiology: Daken's accelerated cellular regeneration augments his natural strength, speed, agility, endurance, and reflexes. *'Regenerative Immortality:' Daken's primary mutant power is his powerful regenerative ability that allows him to rapidly regenerate any damaged or destroyed bodily molecules, cells, tissues, limbs, organs, etc. instantaneously. Daken has healed from injuries sustained after being severely beaten by Hulk in a few seconds. *'Ageless Immortality:' He possesses absolute immortality, is unable to die, age, get sick or be permanently wounded, is absolutely self-sustained, and he's mind and soul are as immortal as biological bodies. He is ageless. He stopped aging in his 20's and has endless vitality, virility, passion and willpower, he never gets bored. *'Self-Resurrection:' He able to come back to life from any imaginable death that he suffers from so long as his body is intact. He completely recovers from any injuries, all wounds and damage (internal and external) he has from healing without a scar or a trace of ever being harmed. This means that when he recovers, his mind, spirit & body is in peak condition, and he is as healthy as possible. *'Foreign Chemical Immunity:' Daken's is immune to all poisons, drugs, toxins, or impurities. *'Disease Immunity:' Daken is immune to all diseases, infections, disorders, and imperfection,he's impervious to gas attacks, poisons, and nerve-toxins of any kind and completely resistant to diseases like anthrax, smallpox and HIV. he is physically, mentally and genetically perfect. Daken is immune to telepathy, highly resistant to elemental extremes (i.e cold). *'Superhumanly Acute Senses:' Daken's senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing are all heightened to a degree of superhuman accuracy. He can see much further and than a normal human with perfect clarity, even retaining this perfect clarity even in near total darkness. Daken's hearing is enhanced, enabling him to detect sounds normal humans can't and sounds they ordinarily could but at much greater distances. Daken's sense of smell is sufficiently heightened to track a target by scent. He can perceive infra red, ultra violent, heat, heartbeat, health, weaknesses, pheromones, feelings & emotions such as anger, shame, grief, fear, lust, etc). * Superhuman Durability: Skin, bone and muscle tissues are augmented to levels that are considerably stronger and harder than human and the tissues are impervious to injury to an extraordinary extent. * Superhuman Stamina: Daken's musculature, produce no fatigue toxins during physical activity, he can maintain continuous movement and strenuous exercise for unlimited periods of time without ever getting tired process. * Superhuman Reflexes: Daken's reflexes are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. His auto-reflexes allow him to easily dodge gunfire and attacks even when not consciously aware of them, his reflexes can be used to attack and counter instead of just defensive purposes. * Superhuman Speed: Daken can react, maneuver, run or move in microseconds. He can easily reach speeds of 80 mph. He is able to attack faster than the eye can follow. He can blitzed people before they even react. * Superhuman Agility: Daken possesses perfect agility, balance, flexibility, dexterity, and bodily coordination. * Pheromone Control: Daken possesses the ability to manipulate his pheromones. He has used it for the purpose of suppressing his own scent to such a degree that even Wolverine's senses are unable to detect him. He can also use his pheromones to manipulate the emotional state and sensory perceptions of other beings. He has been known to use this power to instill intense fear, happiness, depression, sexual arousal, and a false sense of security to other beings. This allows him to seemingly appear where enemies can't see him, enabling him to inflect damage before an opponent realizes it. His pheromone powers appear to be physical in nature, not psionic. His abilities allow him to distort enemies, hinder their depth perception and visual acuity. He has great knowledge to the capabilities of pheromones in general as well as their taste and smell. He can expertly judge and manipulate the emotional/physical state of those around him, both animal and human, all creatures. His power grants him control of his bio-electric field, allowing him manipulate any and all technology/electronics. * Superhuman Mental Process: Daken's mental performance has been greatly enhanced to operate in the most efficient and rapid manner possible. He possesses perfect pattern solving/recognition, limitless information storage/retrieval, perfect perception/observational skills, and logical/philosophical structuring. His mind also process information quickly, he has an accelerated learning aptitude, and can quickly analyze multiple, limitless information streams (e.g., threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations, eidetic memory (meaning that he never forgets anything and has perfect instant recall), he can read at superhuman speeds, has perfect deductive/reasoning skills, and can intuitively understand what's going to happen and how to deal with it. * Telepathic Immunity: Daken is immune to telepathy. His brain even developed a "trap" for any telepath that goes too far into his mind. Daken's telepathic immunity is in no way related to Wolverine's mental blocks, which were made by his healing factor erasing painful memories. * Retractable Muramasa Claws: Daken possesses retractable claws housed within his forearms. Daken's bone claws have been shown to be black in color with a very rough texture in contrast to the light color and smooth texture of his father's claws in their natural state. Daken has two claws which emerge from between the skin of his first and third knuckles while the center claws actually extend from the underside of his wrist. These claws are much harder and denser than normal human bone and their natural shape provides them with a razor-sharp edge capable of easily slicing through flesh and bone very easily. Recently, Daken has had the claws which extend from the underside of his wrist bonded with a broken piece of the Muramasa blade. The Tinkerer, who bonded the broken piece to Daken's claws, has also implanted artificial housings that act as sheathes inside Daken's wrists that are made of Adamantium. According to the Tinkerer, the substance the Muramasa blade is composed of would severely damage Daken's soft body tissues, hence the presence of the Adamantium sheathes. However, the Tinkerer has explained that the bonded claws can be broken and that Daken only use them in certain situations, such as using them only when he's sure he can deliver a wound without the possibility of the claws being damaged. As they're bonded with the broken shard, they're capable of inflicting wounds that greatly nulify the efficiency of accelerated healing factors. Even those with highly-advanced healing factors, such as Wolverine, require several days to fully heal even minor cuts with the blade and the blade is capable of inflicting wounds that would be immediately fatal. Abilities Master Martial Artist: Daken has proven himself to be a superb hand to hand combatant. Cyber trained Daken at one time and acknowledges that Daken has superior skill. Daken has proven this skill by besting both Wolverine and Deadpool. A good deal of his success, however, can also be attributed to his unique ability to use his pheromones to alter the perception and emotional state of others. This gives him a tremendous advantage during combat situations. Strength level Daken possesses great physical strength, though it doesn't reach superhuman levels. While the exact amount of weight he can lift isn't known, he can lift at least twice his own body weight, or at least 334 lbs but no more than 800 lbs, which is the most amount of weight a being within the Marvel Universe can lift without being classified as superhuman. Weaknesses Carbonadium Digestion: Daken's healing factor can be dramatically slowed if Carbonadium is implanted inside of him, such as swallowing something made of Carbonadium or being wounded by a bullet composed of it. It causes his healing factor to be reduced to a slow crawl, at least in comparison to its normal speed, but doesn't fully suppress it. Trivia He somehow has a tattoo even though his healing factor would suggest that it would be rejected from the skin, although the tattoo may just be paint or tattoos are the exception from the healing. Daken bears a strong resemblance to the character Wiper from the One Piece Manga. Skills and personality Unlike Wolverine, Daken has no moral compunction about killing, which he has done in a professional capacity for quite some time. In his appearances he is seen murdering several people. However, like the Winter Soldier, the majority of Daken's personality had been artificially erased, rendering him little more than a living weapon capable of tactical and strategic forethought in order to carry out assassinations. Daken has formidable hand to hand combat skills, though the extent of his exact training has yet to be revealed. However, he has proven capable of defeating his father, Deadpool, and Cyber (who at one point was Daken's instructor and has acknowledged that Daken is a better fighter than himself). Cyber, however, does not consider Daken a worthy opponent due to his lack of an adamantium skeleton. His ability to appear outside his opponent's field of vision is a direct result of his training since he has no superhuman speed. According to Emma Frost, Daken has been heavily and irreversibly brainwashed, though Professor Xavier does not share her view that it is irreversible. Daken acknowledges that Wolverine is his biological father and yet harbored an animosity toward him for being responsible for the death of his mother, which he later learned is not true. Daken once showed loyalty to a mysterious figure known as Romulus, who has been a powerful influence in the lives of Wolverine, Wild Child, Sabretooth, and Cyber. However, thanks to Xavier's help, Daken has recovered some of his original mind and now seeks revenge against Romulus. Daken has been portrayed as bisexual, having engaged in sexual situations with both men and women. Daken kissed a man in Wolverine: Origins #11; however the encounter also served to further toy with a woman he had been romantically seeing and later, Daken killed the man in question.14 In Dark Wolverine #75 it is vaguely suggested Daken has had a sexual encounter with a male employee of Norman Osborn, but this was also shown as a means to access top-secret files.54 Later in the same issue, Daken makes a pass at Mac Gargan however the context is ambiguous, possibly facetious.[citation needed] In the same issue, Daken uses his pheromones to "engage" a female H.A.M.M.E.R. agent. In Dark Avengers #7, Daken humorously states how he "...always did like playing for both teams," a double entendre referencing bisexuality and his membership in both the Dark Avengers and Dark X-Men.55 In Dark Wolverine #76, Daken uses his pheromones in order to manipulate the Thing, goading him with homoerotic remarks.56 During the Siege of Asgard, Daken also made a flirtatious pass at Bullseye dressed asHawkeye,57 also managing to kiss him on-panel.58 In Dark Reign: Young Avengers #5, Daken attempts to uses his pheromones during a fight against Hulkling, a gay male superhero.59 Daken has also been shown on numerous occasions engaging in heterosexual behavior and sleeping with female characters.14 At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International, Marjorie Liu commented (on Daken's sexuality) that "Daken will do anyone and anything achieve his goals and he's past that kind of identification. He's beyond it." Daniel Wayadded that Daken's sexuality will be addressed later on, but it's more about his personality. "He's no more homosexual than he is heterosexual. It's about control."60 Marjorie Liu later confirmed Daken's bisexuality in a 2011 video interview with Newsarama. Category:Characters Category:Mutants Category:Dark X-Men Category:Regeneration Category:Superhuman Stamina Category:Superhuman Reflexes Category:Superhuman Senses Category:Retractable Claws Category:Pheromones Category:Telepathic Immunity Category:Martial Arts Category:Villains Category:Night Vision Category:Male Characters Category:Deceased Category:Horsemen of Apocalypse